The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant, botanically known as K. blossfeldiana×K. laciniata interspecific hybrid, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘AFRICAN PEARL’. As used herein, “interspecific hybrid” includes the progeny from the cross of two different species of Kalanchoe, as well as, the progeny resulting from subsequent backcrossing to one of the parents.
The genus of Kalanchoe belongs to the sedum family (Crassulaceae). There are more than 100 different species of Kalanchoe, of which more than 60 are found growing wild on Madagascar, many in South Africa and a few in Asia and South America. Kalanchoe belongs to the succulent plants, which are characterized by having turgid leaves. The leaves enable them to stand drought in nature or on the windowsill for a longer time than most other plants, and this allows for a supreme longevity.
The new Kalanchoe cultivar is a product of a controlled breeding program conducted by the Inventors, Knud Jepsen and Ellen Christensen, in Hinnerup, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program was to create new Kalanchoe cultivars with large flowers, numerous petals per flower, attractive flower coloration and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Kalanchoe cultivar originated from a cross made in a controlled breeding program by the Inventors in Hinnerup, Denmark. The female parent is a proprietary selection of K. blossfeldiana×K. laciniata interspecific hybrid designated ‘2000 0716’ having single-type flowers with 4 petals per flower. The female parent is described in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,509 and in European Union Community Variety Rights application serial No. 2003/0974, and is the second generation progeny of a fertile interspecific hybrid between K. blossfeldiana and K. laciniata. The male parent, designated K. blossfeldiana cultivar ‘Monroe’, is described in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,714, and has the multi-petalled double-type flower characteristic. The new Kalanchoe cultivar ‘AFRICAN PEARL’ was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Hinnerup, Denmark.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by vegetative terminal cuttings was first performed in February, 2004, in Hinnerup, Denmark, and has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true-to-type through asexual reproduction.